There is a moment, described by Brazilian writer Milly Lacombe during this summer's World Cup, that captures everything about Lionel Messi's relationship with the Argentina shirt. Mid-match, with the game seemingly slipping away, Messi glances upward at the sky. Then he turns it around. "There is something very mysterious there," Lacombe wrote. "That we can't explain. That we just feel."

That mystery has now reached its conclusion. Following Argentina's final international fixture — a friendly against Benin on Tuesday — Messi confirmed that his career in an Argentina shirt is over. A wave of grief, and no small amount of gratitude, swept across a nation that once struggled to love him at all.

From Barcelona's academy to Buenos Aires heartbreak

It is easy to forget how complicated the early chapters of this story were. Messi grew up through Barcelona's celebrated youth system and was eligible to represent both Spain and Argentina. His father, Jorge, was determined that his son would wear the blue and white of their homeland, going so far as to send video footage of the young Messi to then-manager Marcelo Bielsa in the hope of fast-tracking the process.

Jorge spent years fighting an uphill battle to cement the bond between Lionel and Argentina. The effortless brilliance that defined Messi within a slick, well-resourced Barcelona operation simply did not translate at international level in those early years. Jorge's question to his compatriots — how do we get Argentina to love my son? — became something of a refrain. A panel of television pundits famously stood in a minute's silence in mock mourning of his performances. He was criticised for not singing the national anthem. Reports later emerged that he suffered bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea before Argentina matches. Even Diego Maradona, who would later name Messi as captain, dismissed him publicly as lacking leadership.

Silence, scrutiny, and a captain's burden

Throughout all of this, Messi's relationship with words remained strained. Journalist John Carlin once said that having interviewed him twice, he would decline a third opportunity — such was the difficulty of drawing anything meaningful out of him. In 2010, Juan Sebastián Verón observed that Messi had never appeared more nervous than when he was required to address his Argentina teammates for the first time as captain. His most celebrated public outburst — directing a sharp remark at a Netherlands player at the 2022 World Cup — passed into folklore precisely because it was so uncharacteristic.

That 2022 tournament, of course, delivered the moment Jorge always wanted. Argentina won the World Cup. Messi was treated as the game's supreme deity, the debate about whether he had finally eclipsed Maradona seemingly settled for good. The nation fell in love.

A World Cup final defeat and a complicated farewell

Four years on, the 2026 tournament told a different story. Argentina reached the final again, defeating England in a charged semi-final that left even uncommitted observers — Lacombe among them — surrendered to the emotion of it all. The final, against Spain, was different. It lacked the sublime force of that semi-final and ended in defeat. Where Argentina had been darlings in 2022, they became villains in 2026, subjected to a torrent of criticism from across the world.

Lacombe, who had written movingly about supporting Messi despite her discomfort with his silence on the racist incidents that surrounded the Argentina camp during the tournament, captured the contradiction that Messi has always embodied: "a player who is a God and a man who shakes Trump's hand." His silence was noted and debated. But then, Messi has always meant something even when he says nothing.

Whatever the tensions and disappointments of this final chapter, the full arc of his international career represents something genuinely remarkable. A shy boy from Rosario, nurtured by a Catalan club, initially rejected by the country of his birth, became the figure around whom an entire nation organised its sporting identity. His father's ambition was, in the end, more than fulfilled.

The sacred mystery has concluded. Argentina will have to learn to play without it.

FAQs

Frequently asked

When did Messi retire from international football?
Messi confirmed his retirement from international football following Argentina's friendly against Benin on Tuesday, 7 October 2026, making that match his final appearance in an Argentina shirt.
Did Messi win the 2026 World Cup with Argentina?
No. Argentina reached the 2026 World Cup final but were beaten by Spain, suffering defeat in the final after a run that included a semi-final victory over England.
Why did Messi almost play for Spain instead of Argentina?
Messi grew up in Barcelona's youth academy and was eligible to represent Spain through residency. His father, Jorge, campaigned hard to ensure he pledged his international allegiance to Argentina, the country of his birth, before Spain could formally claim him.